SCEA originally accused Hotz of "violating federal law by posting online information about the security system in the PlayStation 3 videogame console and software that SCEA claimed could be used to circumvent the security system in the console and allow the playing of pirated videogames."

Hotz was recently rumoured to be involved with the recent denial of service (DoS) attacks on Sony's internet services by the hacking group Anonymous, though this was soon proven to not be true.

Sony protects IP and customers

SCEA's lawyer Riley Russell said of the recent case that: "Sony is glad to put this litigation behind us. Our motivation for bringing this litigation was to protect our intellectual property and our consumers. We believe this settlement and the permanent injunction achieve this goal.

"We want our consumers to be able to enjoy our devices and products in a safe and fun environment and we want to protect the hard work of the talented engineers, artists, musicians and game designers who make PlayStation games and support the PlayStation Network.

"We appreciate Mr. Hotz's willingness to address the legal issues involved in this case and work with us to quickly bring this matter to an early resolution."

In a statement, the infamous hacker Hotz also said: "It was never my intention to cause any users trouble or to make piracy easier. I'm happy to have the litigation behind me."